Dryland permaculture on 1/2 acre in the Murray Mallee region

Monthly Archives: December 2013

Some years ago I became disillusioned with my lot. I was struggling with consumer debt I had accumulated as a dumb and irresponsible 20-something. I wasn’t enjoying how I spent my days–at work, mainly. It seemed the more I tried to live the worse the predicament became. It was at this point I decided to live more deliberately.

First I traveled. Didn’t enjoy is as much as I should have. Then I started a business as I believed it would bring me more freedom. Wrong. I became an employee of myself. Finally I decided that I needed to take everything back to scratch. There were so many things I enjoyed doing with my time more than work so I wanted to be in a position to be able to enjoy those things more. Call it an early retirement – without being full retired. At this point I discovered the voluntary simplicity movement and permaculture. Both of which made perfect sense to me. Fortunately, I liked the sacrifices these philosophies required.

So what would I do to better my life? I decided I would buy a cheap block of land somewhere in the Australian countryside, build a tiny house and live a kale-and-compost permaculture lifestyle. With a slight twist: relying entirely on bicycle and public transport for transportation. Oh, and the interwebs.

Where am I now? I currently live in a rented unit in Adelaide. I just bought land in a speck of a town in SA’s Murray Mallee region – settles in January 2014. By the middle of the year I hope to have my 7×4 metre straw bale tiny house completed and the land on its way to sustaining most of my needs. This blog will be a chronicle of my journey from this point on, perhaps with the odd story about my past and how this all came about. The permaculture philosophy will underwrite most of what I share. Expect some political ranting.

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The author of Mallee Permie, ‘Paul’, is an IT professional and small business owner from Adelaide, South Australia. Permaculture has become his guiding ethic. He believes in Earth Care, People Care, Fair Share.